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Bob Woodruff special on Iraq war wounded sets off fireworks on “The View”

I know that watching news specials at 10 p.m. on a weeknight is not everyone’s idea of a fun time! But I watched Bob Woodruff’s “To Iraq and Back” special last night on ABC and was first of all, so moved by the recovery of this newsman who nearly died from head wounds suffered in a road bomb blast that occured while he was working on a story in Iraq. The special made no attempt to sugar-coat his injuries and we saw incredible footage of his road back. The love of his wife and family, that’s the real deal. We all want to be loved that well. His handsome face is still intact but with obvious scars and as a reporter, on this story, he showed depth and caring. The look in his eyes said it all when he questioned U.S. military and government officials about the ACTUAL number of injured Iraqi war veterans (a little over 200,000) which was intentionally being kept from the press and the American public. Woodroff humanized the numbers by visiting several of the injured and their families, many who are struggling to kind the kind of care and attention the anchorman got. It’s a moving hour, not boring for a minute. Check it out online on ABC.com.A clip of the Woodruff special was shown on this morning’s episode of “The View” and boy, did it lead to some HEATED discussion. Rosie was on fire. She compared the government trying to keep the true numbers of those injured in Iraq with the government’s ban on any photos of flag-draped coffins being published. This led to the followijg exchange between Rosie, Elizabeth Hasslebeck, and a very agitated Joy Behar:
Hasselbeck: “Rosie, I hear you. I agree with you. I’m saying I think the recall on those photos was just a reaction to the fact that people were using them as false propaganda.”
ODonnell: “It’s not false propaganda when there are dead human beings inside those coffins.”
Hasselbeck: “I’m not denying that.”
ODonnell: “Every other president has met the bodies and attended the funerals.”
Hasselbeck: “He should be there.”
ODonnell: “Every other president has. This is the first president that has not.”
Hasselbeck: “He should be there.”
ODonnell: “It is a disgrace. This administration is a disgrace.”
[Cheers and applause]
ODonnell: “Its not democracy.”
Behar: “Thats right. I agree with that. I don’t want add fuel to the fire, but I don’t know what its going to take for people to really wake up and understand that they are liars and they are murderers. Im sorry.”